‘Shotgun Stalker’ Suspect Held After New Fatal Attack in D.C.

WASHINGTON —  Police charged a man with murder hours after a broad-daylight shotgun killing on a Washington street Monday and said they might have captured the “shotgun stalker” who has kept the capital in jitters for two months.

Police said the latest victim, a 61-year-old man, was killed in the Columbia Heights section of Washington--a mainly residential area about two miles from the White House--and a motorist was later caught and questioned after a car chase.

“I’m confident that we have a good suspect in the shootings that have occurred in that area,” Washington Police Chief Fred Thomas told a news conference.

Before the latest shooting death, two people had been killed and four others wounded by the stalker, who fired from a car at victims in the Columbia Heights and Mt. Pleasant areas.

Thomas said the suspect, whom he identified only as John Doe, was charged with first-degree murder in Monday’s shooting death.

The man was caught in a blue Toyota that seemed to match descriptions of the car used in earlier shootings. Thomas said a shotgun was found in the car.

When police arrested the man, a crowd that had gathered cheered, people at the scene said.

Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly said the suspect seemed to match descriptions of a young man in a baseball cap given by witnesses who saw earlier shootings.

The police chief identified the latest victim as Nello Hughes, 61.